Last week I had the opportunity to head up to Twista’s homebase studio and listen to some of the tracks from his executive produced, Twista Presents The Speedknot Mobstaz – Mobstability II: Nation Bizness, and do a quick interview. Switching gears from artist to executive, Twista, despite the fact that he’s one of the most high profile free agents at the moment, has decided to fall back and concentrate on his role as a boss, and focus his energy toward getting his Get Money Gang imprint up-and-running. In this candid interview, we discuss his corporate aspirations, if he plans to work with Kanye or Traxster again and how he’s currently the “Randy Moss” of Hip Hop.
So 2008 is the year that we see Twista as the music executive, correct?
Yezzir. The new album is from the Speedknot Mobstaz – it’s in stores now and it’s called Mobstability II: Nation Bizness, and I think it’s off the chain. I’m real proud of the guys for the work they put in and they really brought that street element to the album the way I wanted them to.
So with this Mobsta album you kind of took a step back and let Liffy Stokes and Mayz handle things as opposed to being a full-fledged member. You’re featured most of the songs though, right?
Nah, but it seems like it. Originally, I was on about 10 of the songs, because we just go in like that and do a lot of work. But I knew that when it got to a certain point, I was going to have to chop the features down to like three or four because of label things and stuff like that. We just went in hard, and when it came time to narrow it down, it was pretty difficult, but we narrowed it down to like three or four with me featured on the album. By me doing that, like I tell the fellas all the time, I be wanting to be a part of the dope shit, and I’m like “ah man, they raped me of the album!” But at the same time too, you really get a chance to hear how the guys have grown from the first album up until this point.
The first Mobstability album was a classic in my opinion, and from what I’ve heard, the sound is completely different on part 2. Traxster produced the first album in its entirety, so who was behind the boards for this one?
Well, we worked with a producer by the name of Toxic, and that’s how we were able to keep that certain vibe, coming from Traxster, because you know, Traxster and Toxic had a production relationship. So we had the vibe from that point, but don’t forget that a lot of the stuff that me and Traxster did, even though he did the beats, a lot of the creative focus was initiated by me, so we both helped mold that sound.
For this release, you’re doing the independent thing with Koch. How does this project and label differ from your Atlantic situation? Do you like going the indie route?
They both have positives and negatives. If you go the independent route, then of course you can get the bulk of the money, but you won’t be able to sell as many records as a major artist, or get in as many publications as a major artist. But you are out there even though you still sold some records, you still will make more money off the records then another artist might make. But like I said, there are pros and cons to both of them. The good thing about the majors is that you can get out there and get more exposure which can help you book more shows. On the independent level you may be able to make more money on the sales, but you won’t get that show money.
So speaking of Atlantic, is it true that Twista, as a solo artist, is now off Atlantic completely?
Yeah, yeah, I’m completely off Atlantic. Twista a.k.a. The Free Agent. I’m Randy Moss before he did the contract with the Patriots.
So what are you thinking? Any leads or current deals on the table?
I mean, I’m talking to a few people, but you know, the exciting part about it is, while I’m going through this thing, I’m making some good music at the same time. So while I’m out there trying to make a decision, I want some positive, strong music out there. I’ve done so many records and have so many relationships with everybody that it’s easy to see me messing with somebody. If somebody says Puffy, then I’m like “well….okay”, if somebody says Jay-Z then “well, oh, okay”, so it doesn’t really matter who’s name you say, they’ve got some type of affiliation with me, and that’s the exciting part about it. So next year sometime, I’ll be droppin’ something and going at it hard.
So you’re just taking your time doing the boss thing now, huh?
Get Money Gang. Get Money Gang. The first project is the Mobstaz album, the next project is Mello the Guttaman, and after that is Skooda Chose. But right now it’s about the Mobstaz and we’re just going to be riding this out for the next few months
What’s the next single from the Mobtsta project?
The “Get Ya Money Right” record. That’s new the next one we’re putting out. It’s killin’ the streets right now.
Since you’re one of the founding fathers of Chicago hip-hop, how do you feel about the new guys, or the artists who are currently making noise and representing Chicago?
I love it man. I love them lil n***as the same way everyone else love them. I see how the fans across the country are responding to this new wave Chicago and I love it. I’m a fan too. So anyone who has something slick to say is just being a hater.
So something I’m sure all of the fans and readers want to know is if you ever plan on working with Traxster or Kanye West ever again?
I haven’t really had a chance to get it in with either of those guys in a minute. But I’m the type of person where, as long as they have the same mind state that I have, then we’re definitely going to be working together again in the future. I don’t have any problems with either of them or anything like that.
So how do you feel about the response to Adrenaline Rush 2007?
Well, the people who was able to get ahold of it, they liked it a lot. But the way I really wanted to promote and market it, I wasn’t really able to do it the way I wanted to. The relationship with Atlantic started falling apart, because the people who were originally there and knew how to market a Twista record were gone once they started switching it up. I fell into some crazy shit though, and I wasn’t happy about that. I kinda looked at like a relationship that needed to part ways and I needed a fresh start somewhere else.
So are you eating McDonald’s again? Do you still have hard feelings over the whole “Twista is too controversial to be on the McDonald’s nationwide tour” situation?
Yeah, I eat there sometimes (laughs). I wasn’t even salty at McDonald’s, I was trippin’ on Father Fuckery (laughs). [says to Liffy Stoke who is sitting in the room] Isn’t that his name? Father Fuckery? (laughs). They spent some money on some ads and billboards to boycott negative rap, and they ended up failing an inspection and couldn’t hold some type of function that they were trying to hold at the C
hurch because they had some unsafe pipes (laughs). So their building was about to collapse, and they were busy spending money on a negative campaign against me and a handful of other artists, but it was actually just a subliminal way to promote themselves on a whole other level. They were saying “Fuck 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and Twista”. They thought they were making themselves look real good, but they were just using it for subliminal promotion. Father Fuckery.
Alright, finally, this is something I’ve always wanted to ask you…Could you name your 5 favorite Twista songs?
[no pause at all] “Adrenaline Rush”, “Po Pimp”, “Is That Your Bitch”, “Slow Jamz” and “Overdose”